Social Origins of Educational Systems

Margaret Archer's Social Origins of Educational Systems (SAGE, 1979) has been hailed as a landmark in the sociology of education. It provides a major historical and structural comparison of state educational systems, and offers the first theoretical framework to account for their national characteristics and the processes of change they have undergone. In this University Edition, Professor Archer has skilfully condensed her large-scale study into a concise textbook, which retains all the force and vigour of the original. The University Edition of Social Origins of Educational Systems will be essential reading for students of the sociology of education, and for all students involved in the comparative and structural analysis of social change.